Deedee’s Comments (group member since Aug 04, 2010)

Deedee’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Task 20.8 Best of 2015:

Read a book from NPR Concierge.

Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1) (2015) by Zen Cho (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 371 pages)

+20 Task
+10 Combo (#10.2 “No L”, #10.9 Realistic Ratings)

Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30

Grand Total: 260 + 30 = 290

Task 20.3-Toni Morrison (1993)-
Read a book from the Charleston Syllabus.

The House Behind the Cedars (1900) by Charles W. Chesnutt (Paperback, 256 pages)

+20 Task
+05 Combo (#10.9 Realistic Ratings)
+10 Oldies -76 to 150 years old: (1866-1940)

Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 = 35

Grand Total: 225 + 35 = 260

Task 15.2 Dominoes – The Second Book

The Courilof Affair (1933) by Irène Némirovsky (Paperback, 176 pages)

+15 Task (word in title: Affair matches 15.1)

Task Total: 15

Grand Total: 210 + 15 = 225

Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings

The Ice Queen (2005) by Alice Hoffman (Goodreads Author) (Paperback, 211 pages)

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 200 + 10 = 210

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Deedee wrote: "A question: The Science Fiction Stories of Rudyard Kipling contains stories/poems originally published 1893 to 1932. John Brunner collected the stories, ..."

Thanks for answering my question so quickly!! :)

A question: The Science Fiction Stories of Rudyard Kipling contains stories/poems originally published 1893 to 1932. John Brunner collected the stories, added an introduction, and published the book in 1992. Would this book fit this task? And, if so, would +10 Oldies Points (76 to 150 years old: (1866-1940)) apply? Thanks!

Task 20.9 Winnie-the-Pooh
Read a book published during author A.A. Milne's lifetime (1882-1956)

The People of the Abyss (1903) by Jack London

+20 Task
+05 Combo (#10.9 Rating = 3.96)
+10 Oldies -76 to 150 years old: (1866-1940)

Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 = 35

Grand Total: 165 + 35 = 200

Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings

The Garden of Happy Endings (2012) by Barbara O'Neal

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 155 + 10 = 165

Task 10.3 – Science Fiction Day
January 2 is National Science Fiction Day. Read one of the top Science Fiction authors listed on Ranker.com
December 27, 2015: #125

Golden Girl (The American Fairy #2) (2013) by Sarah Zettel

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 145 + 10 = 155

Connie wrote: "For fiction, my favorite 2015 book was The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra. For non-fiction, The War That Ended Peace: The Road To 1914 by ..."

The War That Ended Peace: The Road To 1914 was runner-up for my best non-fiction read of 2014 (2014 non-fiction winner: A Primate's Memoir)

My shortlist for 2015:
Fiction
The Princess Casamassima by Henry James
Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Stone Mattress: Nine Tales by Margaret Atwood

Young Adult
The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams
Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

Non-fiction
Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch
When Paris Went Dark: The City of Light Under German Occupation, 1940-1944 by Ronald C. Rosbottom

Together they make the Top Ten Reads of the Year.

It's odd, but my choice drifts from one book to the other when I try to pick just one favorite.

Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings

The Highly Effective Detective (The Highly Effective Detective #1) (2006) by Rick Yancey

+10 Task
+05 Series

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 130 + 15 = 145

Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings

A Loyal Character Dancer (Inspector Chen Cao #2) (2002) by Qiu Xiaolong (Paperback, 351 pages)

+10 Task
+05 Series

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 115 + 15 = 130

Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings

The Uncertain Places (2011) by Lisa Goldstein
Winner: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature (2012)
Review: I picked this book to read because it won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. I can see why it won: the plot is original and inventive, with just the right balance of the whimsy and the mundane in the plot. The characters are described as doing interesting and different things. Despite that, the characters didn’t seem real. The readers are told (not shown) what the relationship is between the characters (sisters, lovers, friends); and then, the novel’s attention shifts to the plot. I think fantasy novels work better when the reader can empathize with one or more of the characters. Overall, recommended for those who like original stories about faerie, and for those who wish to read the winners of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20

Grand Total: 95 + 20 = 115

Task 10.7 Cozy Holidays

Read a book that has been tagged "Cozy Mystery" by at least 10 users in the genre section on the book page.

Death of a Neighborhood Witch (A Jaine Austen Mystery #11) (2012) by Laura Levine

+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.9 Realistic Ratings)
+05 Series

Task Total: 10 + 05 + 05 = 20

Grand Total: 75 + 20 = 95

Task 10.2 Noel, Noel
Read a book with NO "L" in the title and NO "L" in the author name.

Modern Romance (2015) by Aziz Ansari

+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.9 Realistic Ratings)

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 60 + 15 = 75

Task 10.8 Winter Solstice (Rebekah's Task)-

Read a book written by an author born in one of the countries within the artic circle: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Alaska, U.S.

Outrage (Inspector Erlendur #9) (2008) by Arnaldur Indriðason; translated by Anna Yates; (Hardcover, 281 pages)
Arnaldur Indriðason was born in Reykjavík, Iceland on January 28, 1961

+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.9 realistic ratings)
+05 Series

Task Total: 10 + 05 + 05 = 20

Grand Total: 40 + 20 = 60

Task 15.1 Dominoes – The First Book

A Vintage Affair (2009) by Isabel Wolff

+15 Task

Task Total: 15

Grand Total: 25 + 15 = 40

Task 10.3 – Science Fiction Day
January 2 is National Science Fiction Day. Read one of the top Science Fiction authors listed on Ranker.com
December 07, 2015: #69

A Borrowed Man (2015) by Gene Wolfe (Hardcover, 300 pages)

+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.9: rating 3.44 on 12-07-15)

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 10 + 15 = 25

Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings

On December 7, 2015 rated 3.98

Splintered (Splintered #1) (2013) by A.G. Howard (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 371 pages)
Lexile HL780L

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 00 + 10 = 10

I have a three-way tie for 5th place.
Here is my list as of 11/30/15:

1) Kate Sedley 22
2) Ellen Datlow 16
2) Robert Silverberg 16
2) Margaret Maron 16
5) Mercedes Lackey 13
5) Jack McDevitt 13
5) Charlaine Harris 13